Sermons Index

The Lord Looketh

INTRODUCTION:
1. SCRIPTURE READING: I Sam 16:1-13 = "And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah." Note: Verse seven: These words were spoken by the Lord. The occasion was the selection of one to follow Saul as king.
  1. We learn from this that the Lord looks with interest upon man.
  2. We learn that the Lord does not look upon man as another man does.
  3. We learn what the Lord's looks at in man.
    1. What the Lord's chief concern is.
    2. What the Lord really looks at in man.
2. FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES LOOK WITH ME AT WHAT THE LORD
  1. Does not look at.
  2. Does look at.
DISCUSSION:
1. NOT ON ONE'S SOCIAL POSITION:
  1. The city of David was not of any outstanding importance. It actually was just one city among thousands in Israel and possessed no special significance.
  2. Regarding social standing in the body of Christ Paul wrote:
    Gal. 3:28 = "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
    I Cor. 1:26 = "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:"
2. NOT ON ONE'S FAMILY TREE:
  1. The lineage of Jesse, Obed, and Ruth was humble in its origin. Note: Jesse's great-grandmother was Rahab the Canaanite, of Jericho, wo was a harlot.
    Josh 2:1-2 = "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country."
    Matt 1:5 = "And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;"
  2. If David were living today, a Pharisaic person might sneeringly pass him by, and say "his background is poor".
3. NOT ON ONE'S RACIAL CONNECTION:
  1. The blood of Ruth, the Moabitess; and Rahab, the harlot of Canaan, flow through the veins of David.
    Matt 1:5-6 = "And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;"
  2. Regarding a person's racial background in Christ, Paul wrote in Gal. 3:28 = "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
  3. At the house of Cornelius, Peter said, "… Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." = Acts 10:34-35.
4. NOT ON ONE'S PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.
  Comment: A man is not necessarily great because he is big, or has some outstanding physique.
  1. John Milton, one of the greatest English poets of the 17th Century, was blind.
  2. Thomas Carlyle, considered the greatest social philosopher of Victorian England, was certainly not consider to have attractive physical features.
  3. The apostle Paul, one of the greatest missionaries, and writers of the New Testament did not have a pleasing appearance.
    1. His bodily appearance was weak. 2 Cor 10:10 = "For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."
    2. He might even have had weak eyes. Gal 6:11 = "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand."
5. THE LOOK LOOKETH ON THE HEART:
  1. Why the heart? Prov. 4:23 = "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
    1. The motives of a man.
    2. The intentions of a man.
    3. The actions of life.
  2. The Master teacher laid emphasis on the heart with these words: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" = Matt. 5:8.
  3. It is not the outward actions that are seen and heard, which is of concern to the Lord, but the inward source from which these things come forth. Prov 23:7 = "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."
CONCLUSION:
1. THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THESE PASSAGES:
  Matt 23:25-28 = "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
  Rom 2:28-29 = "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
2. WHAT DOES THE LORD SEE IN YOUR HEART?
3. THERE IS NO BETTER TIME TO CLEANSE YOUR HEART THAN NOW!

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